Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ezra555]

I�m thinking of teaching in South Korea starting next September. I will detail my plan below and would appreciate any comments, insights, criticisms, ect. I have never been outside of North America. I will try to keep this short.

I have a BA in English (w/ in international relations). Sometime before the end of June, I hope to complete the CELTA. My interest is largely in Central Europe (from my university studies) � Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, or Romania � but I would rather have experience and savings before committing to the region. 10K USD or above in savings would allow for travel and security, or so I estimate (I�m thinking two years). From what I see here and elsewhere on the internet, South Korea could offer me both experience and savings. Seeing Asia is also a motivating factor.

I have extensively read the stuff on these forums (but by no means all of it). Here is my list of questions I still have:

1) Assuming I enjoy TESL (I am a speech tutor currently), would it be stressful/difficult to teach in South Korea Sept. 08 � Sept. 09, then moving to Central Europe for a position? In Central Europe the programs seem to start September. I�m worried about missing the window due to an in-progress contract.

1a) Do programs in South Korea typically start late August, early September? Should I allow 2 months prior to my September start date for visa troubles, or more? In other words, when is the best time to start sending out resumes for fall 2008?

2) Will planning on staying in South Korea for only a year hurt my chances/reputation at a prospective school? Should I tell them my plans honestly, or should I just let them assume what they will?

3) Would having the CELTA help me in finding a good job in South Korea? It seems most job postings say nothing about preferring it. Would it allow me to negotiate a wage or is it largely null w/o experience?

4) Any thoughts on the social life of South Korea (particularly Seoul) for a first year teacher with little knowledge of the language?

I�ve gone longer than I expected. I hope to hear from people!

Thanks!

[cruisemonkey]

1) Assuming I enjoy TESL (I am a speech tutor currently), would it be stressful/difficult to teach in South Korea Sept. 08 � Sept. 09, then moving to Central Europe for a position? In Central Europe the programs seem to start September. I�m worried about missing the window due to an in-progress contract.

No problem at all.


1a) Do programs in South Korea typically start late August, early September? Should I allow 2 months prior to my September start date for visa troubles, or more? In other words, when is the best time to start sending out resumes for fall 2008?

Many public school contracts start Sept. 1 (essentially the start of the second semester of the school year). You would probably have to be here in late Aug. for an 'orientation', the length of which varies depending on the program and area. Start to obtain all the required documents in early June (some cannot be more than three months old) and start your job search - be picky.


2) Will planning on staying in South Korea for only a year hurt my chances/reputation at a prospective school? Should I tell them my plans honestly, or should I just let them assume what they will?

You're signing a one-year contract. Don't tell them anything.


3) Would having the CELTA help me in finding a good job in South Korea? It seems most job postings say nothing about preferring it. Would it allow me to negotiate a wage or is it largely null w/o experience?

Koreans don't care what kind of certification you have. The only thing that 'counts' is (for a public school position), the course must be over 100 hours. Your CELTA will get you an extra W100,000/mo. in a public position. Anything in a private (hogwan) position is strictly up to your negotiating skills.


4) Any thoughts on the social life of South Korea (particularly Seoul) for a first year teacher with little knowledge of the language?

Sorry, can't comment - I've never lived in Seoul (and wouldn't want to).

[Roving_gypsy_gurl]

Wow -- good questions!

1) People are hiring all the time, and so long as you have your documents all ready you can process your visa paperwork fairly quickly (although leave time for your consulate interview). You'll get a better selection if you leave yourself some time, so I'd say start looking in June/July but don't worry if you don't find anything right away as last minute hirings aren't uncommon.

2) Nope. A contract is for one year and no one has any right to expect you to stay longer than that. People who stay for only a year make up a huge bulk of the teaching population.

3) Any certification helps. CELTA, TEFL, TESOL... it just helps to be able to say you're certified. My school "requires" CELTA, I have TESOL instead, but they wanted to hire me so they simply insisted it was "equal".

4) You can learn basic phonics in an afternoon, and survival Korean in a week. Good schools will have a bilingual member of staff dedicated to helping you set up a bank account, deal with immigration, etc, until you get the hang of it. Some Koreans speak English, and are more than happy to chat with foreigners to improve their language skills. If you're looking at Seoul, you'll also have a wide variety of English teachers to hang out with.

[bassexpander]

For a minute, your post confused me as to why you'd want to come here and teach for two days.

My advice always has been to come here and see the schools before signing. Now, as I understand it, that's sort of impossible, because of new visa rules (unless you pony-up money for flights here and back home).

Luckily, if you plan on teaching only in Korea, you can do another TEFL program like ITTT or KEI-TEFL (the second one will provide you with on-site lab time to critique your lessons) for about 1/5 the cost of a CELTA. There are others listed here who pay money to advertise on Dave's front page.

[Ezra555]

Thanks for all the responses! I feel a little more confident now.

[cbclark4]

Getting the job is easy.

Getting paid on time and having your boss honor the contract in
detail is another story even public schools can be a problem.

Good luck

[poet13]

1) Assuming I enjoy TESL (I am a speech tutor currently), would it be stressful/difficult to teach in South Korea Sept. 08 � Sept. 09, then moving to Central Europe for a position? In Central Europe the programs seem to start September. I�m worried about missing the window due to an in-progress contract.
I don't think it would be stressful. You sound reasonably well organized and "with it".

1a) Do programs in South Korea typically start late August, early September? Should I allow 2 months prior to my September start date for visa troubles, or more? In other words, when is the best time to start sending out resumes for fall 2008?
Outfits hire all the time here. I would try to get into EPIK or GEPIK. The chance of getting messed around with money is much smaller then in a hakwon. The opportunities for cultural exploration are greater because you will have more time off.


2) Will planning on staying in South Korea for only a year hurt my chances/reputation at a prospective school? Should I tell them my plans honestly, or should I just let them assume what they will?
No, it won't, and it's none of their business. I wouldn't offer the information up front either though. Many many people only do one year contracts here.

3) Would having the CELTA help me in finding a good job in South Korea? It seems most job postings say nothing about preferring it. Would it allow me to negotiate a wage or is it largely null w/o experience?
Yes, a CELTA will help. In EPIK or GEPIK, you are assigned a level based on experience and quals. Levels are worth money. Also. DO NOT let anyone keep that document here. Some Koreans for some reason love to hold on to our documents...and then very inconveniently not be able to find them again.


4) Any thoughts on the social life of South Korea (particularly Seoul) for a first year teacher with little knowledge of the language?
I'm thinking it will be exactly what you make of it. Choose your friends wisely, and for gawds sake, if you want to save money, don't acquire a K-girlfriend.

[Whistleblower]

[garykasparov]

Pay attention to every school on every blacklist and stay away from dishonest recruiters. Post all contracts before you sign anything and we will critique the contracts for you. Do not work in a hagwon or academy or private school. You will be cheated.

[Ezra555]

Thanks for all the advice! I am interested in the EPIK or other government sponsored positions. Does anyone have experience or advice concerning Seoul locations/positions?

[bassexpander]

Actually, I'm giving people other options than the overpriced CELTA (over 2 million won in Korea). In Korea, it's just another TEFL/TESOL certification, and in the USA, the CELTA is useless.

Obviously, by citing two separate companies unrelated to one another, I'm not trying to sell anyone anything (unlike some people who post on here for the CELTA).

But to answer the OPs question, you can come here and teach with that. If you want to find out about what you can teach in Europe with, then why not ask there? This smells of the typical bi-weekly CELTA cult attempting to post for free advertising again.

Besides, the newly-tapped education minister of Korea is from Sookmyung. She's already pushing programs like her 4 million won Sookmyung TEFL certification on Koreans. "Every Korean teacher should have it" she says. They recently signed up 300 students at over 4 million won per person. It sounds to be a great program, and takes months, but guess who is making money from that one? Sookmyung. Isn't it interesting that the new education minister is from there, and suddenly all Korean teachers should get this certification? Think about it.

There is big, big money in these TEFL programs -- and CELTA is just yet another fish trying to get as much of that pie as possible. That's why we will continue to see these "gee, would a CELTA be good enough..." posts.

CELTA's program is going to lose a lot of money here, because universities all-around Korea are starting their own programs with on-site learning and teaching practice as well. The whole TEFL certification craze is becoming the new hagwon draw... that's where the money is. Our uni is considering its own program, as well.

[tob55]

The biggest problem that everyone attaches value to quality, which has been proven over and over again to simply be an unproven factor.

[chris_J2]

For Seoul positions, you want SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office Education), not EPIK.

There are always ESL vacancies in Sth Korea, despite what the 'out of date' websites may state. eg, I arrived mid September, flew to Japan on 27 Sep, orientation on 29/30, & started work October 1st.

TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certification isn't mandatory, but helps.

Plenty of social life in Seoul. Insadong / Itaewon / Myeongdong eg. Busses & trains go almost everywhere, & are cheap fast & efficient.

[bassexpander]

You've gotta hand it to the Koreans. They're taking this whole TEFL certification thing and changing it into a future government requirement, and the individuals pushing it are making a lot of money in the process. My Korean teacher-wannabe friends are all up-in-arms about getting it now.

It's kind of like a forced hagwon situation -- suggest (and later require) that all Korean teachers get this certification. Then funnel them toward your own program that costs over 4 million dollars for 4 months of work.

Really, it's the grand canal of English education.

They're probably thanking organizations like CELTA for giving them the idea of how to make more money off of their own people.

[Whistleblower]

Wow 4 million dollars for 4 months is sure a lot of money and I am sure that the CELTA doesn't cost that much.